Stranger Than Fiction: When The U.S. Army Used Rock And Roll For Psychologial Warfare 35 Years Ago

On December 20th., at this time back in 1989, the United States Army invaded Panama, the once close relationship between General Manuel Noriega and the US had deteriorated to the point of no return, So in an address to the nation, then President George H W Bush said he had ordered military forces to Panama to "protect the lives of American citizens" and bring Noriega "to justice".

At the time, Noriega was facing a US indictment for drug-trafficking, as well as claims he had rigged a 1989 election. so then U.S. military invaded Panama under the Operation Just Cause, as it was dubbed by the US, saw more than 20,000 US troops invade the country and seize control of key military installations.

 

As soon he rapidly ran out of options, Noriega took refuge at the Vatican Embassy in Panama City. In deference to diplomatic protocol, U.S. forces did not enter the embassy. But they had a plan B to force the dictator to give up, that plan involved music, mostly heavy metal and rock, with a few ballads, and play 'em on loud speakers. U.S. Gen. Maxwell "Mad Max" Thurman had ordered speakers placed as a "musical barrier" around the perimeter of the Vatican Embassy and turned to full volume.

 

The U.S. military radio for Central America, known as the Southern Command Network, initially did what it always did — play requests from the troops, but at first they did not take any request until 21 December.

 

Many of those requests were directed at Noriega to send a musical musical, but when the troops started coming in from the field, the requests became quite imaginative, for instance "Give It Up," by K.C. And The Sunshine Band, "No More Mister Nice Guy," by Alice Cooper, and "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.

 

Other favourites included "Welcome to the Jungle," by Guns N' Roses, "Wanted Dead Or Alive," by Bon Jovi, and "The End" by The Doors,  "I Fought The Law" by The Clash, Panama by the stadium rock band Van Halen, U2's "All I Want Is You", Bruce Cockburn's "If I Had A Rocket Launcher.", INXS "Never Tear Us Apart", and of course "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, so practically, Manuel Noriega was the first rickrolled. The rock and pop music stops on Christmas Day, when the radio station broadcast only Christmas music. But with requests streaming in, the U.S. effort ramped up after the holiday. 

 

On December 27, "someone who identified himself as a member of the PSYOPS [Psychological Operations] team from Fort Bragg [N.C.] called to tell us what they were doing with their loud speakers, because on radio news had reports explaining what was happening there, of course not everyone was happy with the military's approach, including the White House, and the music was stopped after several days. President George H.W. Bush's national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, said afterward that he thought the use of high-volume music was "undignified."

 

On January. 3, 1990, Noriega surrendered to the U.S. forces, though not until after he'd been treated to a version of "I Fought The Law." Noriega was reportedly partial to opera. What he got instead was "Panama," from Van Halen, "Danger Zone," from Kenny Loggins, and "Refugee," courtesy of Tom Petty.

 

Noriega was flown to Miami, tried and convicted of drug trafficking, and spent nearly two decades in U.S. prisons, and finally died on 29 May, 2017. 

You can take a look to the full playlist here: Panama Playlist